Thought For The OPEN Mind - Humor From American Culture!
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Monday

Information Please?

"Information? I need the number of the Caseway Insurance Company.""Would you spell that, please?""Certainly. C as in sea. A as in aye. S as in sea. E as in eye. W as in why. A as in are. Y as in you.""Just a minute, sir. I'll connect you with my supervisor."

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In that interesting encounter between Jesus and the paralytic given to usby Luke, we see a defining reminder of the relationship between evidenceand faith, the temporal and the eternal. The friends of this paralyzedman did everything they could to bring him within the sight and touch ofJesus (see Luke 5:17-26). They even disfigured the property of the personin whose house Jesus was visiting in the hope that he would perform amiracle for their friend. I suspect they must have reasoned that if Jesuscould make a paralyzed man walk again, then replacing a roof would be aminor problem. But as they lowered this man within reach of the Savior,they were not expecting an apologetic discussion.

"Which of the two is harder," asked the Lord, "to bring physical healingor to forgive a person's sins?" The irresistible answer was self-evident,was it not? To bring physical healing because that would be such amiraculous thing, visible to the naked eye. The invisible act offorgiveness had far less evidentiary value. Yet, as they pondered and aswe ponder, we discover repeatedly in life that the logic of God is sodifferent to the logic of humanity. We move from the material to thespiritual in terms of the spectacular, but God moves from the spiritual tothe material in terms of the essential. The physical is the concreteexternal--a shadow. The spiritual is the intangible internal--theobjective actuality.

Yet we all chase shadows. We chase them because they are a hauntingenticement of the substance without being the substance themselves. Ittakes a jolt, sometimes even a painful jolt, to remind us where realitylies and where shadows seduce. Our Savior was so aware of this weaknesswithin us that he often walked the second mile to meet us in order thatsomething more dramatic might be used to put into perspective for us whatis more real and of greater importance to God. Yes, he did heal that man,but not without the reminder of what the ultimate miracle was. Once weunderstand this, we understand the relationship between touching the souland touching the body. Both are real, but one is the object; the other isthe shadow. In this instance, Jesus followed the act of forgiveness withthe easier act of physical healing so that the paralyzed man would feelthe touch of the Savior from what was more meaningful to what was morefelt. If he was a wise man he would walk with the awareness that theapparently less visible miracle was actually more miraculous than the morevisible one--but his feeling of gratitude for his restored body wouldremain a constant reminder to him of the restoration of his soul.

As I have pondered this and the many other examples of Jesus's acts ofmercy, I look at our hurting world that is desensitized to the greatnessof the gospel message--the message that cleanses the soul and heals theinner being. Our world is weighed down with pain, fear, suffering, andpoverty. In more than three decades of travel around the world I haveseen this reality with my own eyes. Our world is so broken that if wewere to stare reality in the face, we would wish it really were only ashadow and not an actual embodiment. Such is the blind eye people turn tothe familiar and dismiss as mere shadows what is tragically real. Bothbody and soul are forgotten. The cost in human suffering is beyondcomputation.

In such a world, the question becomes: Can we shut our eyes to such needand suffering, or is there a role we can play that lifts the tiles of aroof to bring some of them within the touch of the Lord? The overwhelminganswer is yes, there is a role that we can and must play. Love is indeedthe most powerful apologetic. It is the essential component in reachingthe whole person in a fragmented world. The need is vast, but it is alsoimperative that we be willing to follow the example of our Lord and meetthe need. What does this mean for us? It means giving a cup of coldwater in the name of Jesus and telling the recipient to thank God and notman for that gift. Only eternity will reveal how deep and how real suchan impact is, but our calling is clear: to let our light so shine thatmen, women, and children will see our good works and glorify our Father inHeaven.

That is apologetics completed. That is confirming to the mind by thevisible touch of the body. The mind is to the soul what the body is tothe shadow. When we can touch both we have demonstrated the power of boththought and deed. It lifts the message out of the shadow and brings itinto the light. Such is the power of love. Unless we understand aperson's pain we will never understand a person's soul. And what aprivilege we have to take the message of the Cross upon which "He bore ourgriefs and carried our sorrows." Christ is the best reminder of what isreal and what is shadow.

It's no secret around our family that I'm not the most technical or mechanical guy in the world. And when something is wrong with our car, I do head for the gas station. Our friend has worked on our car for years and he does a good job. And since I have been "Joe Used Car" for a lot of my life, there has usually been a fair amount of work to do. I come chugging in, and I tell my friend the symptoms of what seems to be wrong with the car. I tell him about the noise, the starting problem, or the loss of power, and then he talks back to me. He tells me what he thinks it might be, what he thinks it might cost, and how long it might take to fix it. So what do I do? Do I say, "Thanks, friend," and then chug out in my ailing car? No, I have to leave it there!

Our word from the Word of God comes from Luke 7, beginning at verse 2. "A certain Centurion servant was there, whom his master valued highly. The servant was sick and about to die. The Centurion heard of Jesus, and sent some elders of the Jews to Him, asking Him to come and heal his servant. When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with Him." At this point, they are telling Jesus about the problem, just like I tell the mechanic about my car's problem. In this case, it's a very valued servant.

Jesus responds, and the Centurion sends a message back, and says, "I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but say the word and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one go, and he goes, and that one comes, and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it. When Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following Him, He said, 'I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.' And then the men that had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well." Look at those words, "such great faith." Jesus is always talking to His disciples about their little faith. He says, "This unlikely man, this Gentile, has such great faith." Why? Well, he didn't just tell Jesus about the problem, he trusted Him with it. That's why he got the miracle he needed.

It doesn't do any good if I just tell my mechanic about the problems my car has. I have to leave it in his hands and drive away in another car. I do leave it there. I trust him. Maybe you're looking at a problem or need that really could use the touch of God right now. You say, "Well, I've prayed about it." You've prayed about it, but have you really left it with Him? You told Him, but have you trusted Him with it? Notice, this Centurion says, "Just say the word, and it will be done." He recognizes the total authority of Jesus over the situation, and acts as if it is totally in Jesus' hands. That is great faith.

Is that how you are when you pray about someone or something? "Lord, if You say come, it will come. If You say, go, it will go. If You say do this, it will be done." Now when Jesus has the problem, you don't have it anymore. When you tell Jesus about it, you walk in all bent over with the load, and you walk out of the throne room still bent over. No. When you really trust Jesus with it, you walk in bent over, but you walk out standing tall. You left your load in Jesus' hands. So, would you relax in His total authority over the situation? Exercise the faith that brings down the supernatural, "Such great faith."

The old song says, "I must tell Jesus all of my troubles." Upgrade that to, "I must trust Jesus with all of my troubles." Drive it to Jesus, and then, leave it with Him.

To find out how you can begin a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, please visit:

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